Anthony Barry is not a man who hides from the hard questions. England's assistant coach spent much of this international break picking apart what went wrong in the World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina, then working with Thomas Tuchel to figure out how to ensure it never happens again. The process has been so thorough, so relentless, that Barry can now gently needle his manager about it. "He's doing my head in," Barry admitted this week, with a grin that suggested he would not have it any other way.

The fruit of all that labour was on full display on Saturday evening in Rijeka, where England dismantled Croatia 7-0 in their Nations League opener. Jude Bellingham was extraordinary — ranging across the pitch, overloading either flank, ghosting into pockets of space that seemed to materialise around him alone. It was the sort of performance that reminded you why Real Madrid paid what they did. And according to Barry, it was not a coincidence.

Freedom over function

The central idea behind Tuchel's new system is elegantly simple: stop telling your best player where to stand. Bellingham wore the number 22 at Birmingham City because, as a teenager, he was already a number four, a number eight and a number ten rolled into one. Tuchel appears to have decided that trying to force him into any single role is wasteful, that the smarter solution is to give him a space in which he can do all of it within the same 90 minutes.

"The structure allows Jude to play more from his intuition," Barry explained, "and less from being locked down or caged in a certain position. It allows him to roam and operate in spaces in which he thinks he can be dangerous and so far it's brought out the best in him."

Barry is careful to note that this is still a small sample. The Nations League has barely begun. But the evidence from both Saturday's rout and the 3-2 defeat against Spain the week before — a result that flattered England far less than the scoreline suggests — points to a side beginning to find a coherent identity.

A team redrawn

It would be a mistake to frame this solely as the Bellingham project. The changes run through the entire shape of the team. Full-backs were pushed extremely high against Croatia, stretching the pitch. Wingers made sharp, darting runs off either side. Harry Kane, typically anchored near the opposition's back line, was seen dropping into defensive positions out of possession — territory most number nines would refuse to enter.

The result was a side that felt genuinely difficult to pin down. Croatia were not just beaten; they were overwhelmed, trailing by four at half-time. England's counterpress was ferocious, the management's aim reportedly to regain the ball within two or three seconds of losing it. When that intensity is married to the positional fluidity Barry describes, the combination becomes extremely hard to handle.

"We have moved to a more principle-driven approach, which allows for more flexibility and fluidity," Barry said. The implication is clear: the rigid, cautious setup that left England so exposed in the semi-final against Argentina is being actively dismantled.

The road to Euro 2028

Nobody at the Football Association is pretending the Nations League is the end goal. The tournament is viewed internally as preparation for Euro 2028, which England will co-host. That context matters — it gives Tuchel's coaching staff licence to experiment, to test combinations, to occasionally accept a result like the Spain defeat in order to learn something about the team's ceiling.

England return to Wembley on Tuesday night to face Czechia, and the expectation is that the same principles will be applied. The market has already reacted positively to what it saw in Croatia. Whether the fluency holds up against stiffer opposition over the coming months will tell us considerably more.

Barry is not getting carried away. "We have to continue," he said, after describing the Bellingham solution. It is a measured acknowledgement that finding an answer in early October is the beginning of the work, not the end of it. But for the first time since the World Cup, England look like a side searching for something expansive rather than simply something safe.

Frequently asked

What formation is Thomas Tuchel using with England?
Tuchel has moved England away from a rigid positional system towards a more fluid, principle-driven approach. Full-backs push high, wingers make runs off the sides, and players like Jude Bellingham are given licence to drift rather than being fixed to a single position.
What was the score when England played Croatia in the Nations League?
England beat Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, leading 4-0 at half-time. It was a Nations League group-stage fixture played in early October 2026.
When do England play Czechia in the Nations League?
England host Czechia at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night, following the 7-0 win over Croatia. It is their second Nations League fixture of the current campaign.